Two Men Accused of Raping, Prostituting Woman Held Captive

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Two men have been accused of holding a woman captive for nearly two days to prostitute her and rape her, officials said Thursday.

Benjamin Gaston, 36, and Johnny Jackson, 53, are accused of bringing the 28-year-old victim to Jackson’s apartment on West 92nd Street last November. Once they got to the apartment, Gaston allegedly stole the woman’s ID, cell phone and cash, according to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.

Prosecutors say the two men then forced her to have sex with multiple men, keeping the profits.

“The facts of this crime are truly heinous – these defendants are accused of holding a woman hostage in order to essentially enslave and prostitute her,” Vance said in a statement.

After the initial alleged assault, prosecutors say the woman found a phone and called 911 multiple times. But police couldn’t pinpoint her location and were unable to respond.

The next evening, the woman was brought to a sixth-floor apartment on West 149th Street, where several men were waiting. As punishment for calling 911, she was told she had to have sex with those men, prosecutors said.

She tried to escape out a bedroom window and fell to the ground, breaking her back, legs and arm.

Gaston and Jackson have been charged with first-degree kidnapping and rape, as well as sex trafficking.